War and Enlightenment in Russia explores how members ofthe military during the reignof Catherine II reconciled Enlightenmentideas about the equality and moral worth of allhumans with the Russian reality based on serfdom, a worldgoverned by autocracy, absolute respect for authority, andsubordination to seniority.
While there is a sizable literature about the impact of theEnlightenment on government, economy, manners, and literaturein Russia, no analytical framework that outlines itsimpact on the military exists. Eugene Miakinkov's researchaddresses this gap and challenges the assumption that themilitary was an unadaptable and vertical institution. Using archivalsources, military manuals, essays, memoirs, and letters,the author demonstrates how the Russian militaires philosophes into reality.
By:
Eugene Miakinkov
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 159mm,
Spine: 27mm
Weight: 640g
ISBN: 9781487503543
ISBN 10: 1487503547
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 16 June 2020
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction 1. Between Patronage and Education: The Enlightenment and the Military Pre-Intelligentsia in Catherine’s Russia 2. Favourites and Professionals: Merit, Seniority, and Advancement in Catherine’s Military 3. “We must distinguish the military establishment from other callings”: Writers and Ideas of the Russian Military Enlightenment 4. “Always remember that he is not a peasant, but a soldier”: The Enlightenment and the Shaping of Russian Soldiers 5. “Fantastic forms of folly”: Individualism and the Performance of Military Culture 6. “The gutters of the town were dyed with blood”: The Siege of Izmail, Russian Military Culture, and the Limits of the Enlightenment at War 7. “His Majesty recommends to gentlemen-officers to dress better and not to stutter”: Paul I and the Military Enlightenment Conclusion: The Legacy of the Enlightenment in Russian Military Culture Bibliography
Eugene Miakinkov is a lecturer in the Department of Political and Cultural Studies at Swansea University.
Reviews for War and Enlightenment in Russia: Military Culture in the Age of Catherine II
"""War and Enlightenment challenges the dictum about Russian backwardness. Miakinkov helps explain why and how the Russian army won repeatedly in the late eighteenth century. More broadly, the book enhances our appreciation of the cosmopolitan and variegated nature of the Enlightenment."" -- Lucien Frary, Rider University * <em>The Journal of Military History</em> * ""Serious students of Russian history, the Military Enlightenment, and the influence of Enlightenment thought will find Eugene Miakinkov's new book deserving of their careful reflection. It is a highly instructive contribution to the English-language literature on the army that stymied Frederick the Great and helped defeat Napoleon Bonaparte."" -- James McIntyre, Moraine Valley Community College * <em>Michigan War Studies Review</em> * “Provides a much-needed revision to our understanding of the eighteenth-century Russian military.” -- Tyler Mazda, Ohio State University * <em>H-Net Reviews: H-War</em> *"
- Commended for 2021 Canadian Association of Slavists Taylor & Francis Book Prize 2021 (Canada)
